Sports Betting In Ct
- Legalize Sports Betting In Ct
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- Sports Betting In Ct
- Sports Betting In Ct
Feb 11, 2021 CT legislators still need to approve a bill to actually legalize and regulate sports betting. However, that is already in motion via SB 146, which has 17 sponsors from both chambers. There is a competing bill, SB 570, that lacks the clout of SB 146. Sports betting was legalized in the nation’s capitol in December 2018, with both retail and online operations managed by the DC Lottery live by summer. Virginia: YES: YES: JANUARY 21, 2021: A fairly comprehensive Virginia sports betting bill was signed into law in April 2020. Online sports betting launched in the state in the first weeks of 2021. Featured Sports Lundy's 31 Points Boosts Penn St. Over Maryland 66-61 Seth Lundy scored 31 points — one away from matching his career high — and Penn State rallied to stun Maryland 66-61 on.
BySome in Connecticut have been supportive of internet gaming for years. Most notably, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe and Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut have vocalized their support for igaming to generate more revenue. Lawmakers like State Senator Catherine Osten have filed bills year after year to legalize sports betting and online gambling.
They now have a proposed bill – SB.146 – behind which to put their efforts and advocacy.
There are several reasons to suspect that those lawmakers have a better chance to pass their bill this year than any in the past. In 2021, Connecticut could very well join New Jersey, Delaware, Michigan, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania in offering legal online casino games and also Nevada in legalizing online poker.
Years of Petitioning
Connecticut is no stranger to gambling, one of the early adopters of a state lottery that launched in 1971. Bingo was legalized long ago, as was horse racing, off-track betting, charity gambling, etc.
When the US Congress passed the Indian Regulatory Gaming Act (IGRA) of 1988, two Connecticut tribes stepped up to sign compacts with the state government. The Mashantucket Pequots opened its Foxwoods Resort Casino in 1992, and the Mohegans opened the Mohegan Sun a few years later. The Mashantucket Pequots fairly recently signed a deal with MGM to expand gambling opportunities. Both tribes operate fully-functional casino resorts.
Both tribes also expressed support for online gambling after Black Friday.
It wasn’t until 2018 that lawmakers seemed to take the idea of igaming more seriously, having seen New Jersey grow its online industry for years with much success. That year, the Public Safety and Security Committee held a hearing to examine the issue further, and both tribes represented strong support for online casino games, daily fantasy sports, and online poker.
However, at that time, too many lawmakers had no concept of how online gaming would work and how it could protect customers. So, the House Majority and Deputy Minority Leaders shut it down. A bill in 2019 passed through that the Senate Public Safety and Security Committee, but the bill died on the floor.
CT tribal gaming, sports betting – Osten preparing to resubmit gaming bill https://t.co/Cn4EJEM2jp via @thedayct
— Laura Briggs (@Fantini_LauraB) January 21, 2020
In February 2020, State Senator Catherine Osten again put forward an online gambling and sports betting proposal. A bipartisan group of lawmakers signed on to a SB.21, and the tribes were enthusiastic. The problem was that Connecticut had been at the center of a federal court case between MGM and the US Department of the Interior regarding a new casino. Another problem was tension between Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and tribal leaders.
Time to Reconsider Yet?
Legalize Sports Betting In Ct
When the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States and casinos closed indefinitely, the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments joined the tribes in requesting that Lamont sign an executive order to allow online gaming to offset the revenue losses. Lamont denied the request and punted the issue to the legislature.
Meanwhile, Connecticut lawmakers watched New Jersey and then Pennsylvania collect millions upon millions of dollars in igaming revenue, as well as online sports betting revenue, throughout 2020. Delaware collected some revenue online as well. And Michigan worked all year to make its igaming laws more amenable to online poker operators to launch in early 2021, and the first sites did just that.
In December 2020, Lamont showed that he had a change of heart. He told the Hartford Courant that he was working with the tribes to negotiate on the topic of sports betting. They still had to chat with lottery and off-track betting operators, but Lamont sounded positive. “We’re trying to reach an accommodation where we can get sports betting and even iGaming going in the state – doing it in a way that doesn’t prompt a litigation war of sorts, and we’re trying to work that through.”
New Year, New Priorities
As the Connecticut legislature prepared to return to work during the first week of 2021, the Hartford Courant reported on the most significant issues to be discussed. In light of the pandemic and the disastrous economic situation that resulted, a primary goal would be to find new revenue streams for the state without raising taxes.
One of those revenue streams could be sports betting. Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney said that 2021 needed to be the year to come to an agreement on the subject. The Mashantucket Pequots had just signed a deal for online sports wagering with DraftKings, and the tribes were lobbying hard for it.
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Enter Osten and 16 of her fellow legislators (and five cosponsors) got together to create a proposal that would kick things off. Proposed SB.146 is a bipartisan, bicameral act “authorizing sports wagering, internet gaming, internet lottery and internet keno.”
They referred the bill to the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Security on January 13, and they voted it to draft on January 21. (All members but one voted for a draft bill.)
Where’s Online Poker?
The bill on the table is merely a placeholder. A much more detailed bill must be written before it hits the floor of the Senate for a vote.
In the meantime, it is important to note that the word “poker” does not appear in the proposal.
The bill calls for amended Connecticut statutes to authorize the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribes to conduct “sports wagering on Indian lands, online sports wagering, and online casino gaming.” The Connecticut Lottery would put draw game tickets and keno online. And it would authorize the proper regulatory body to “require reasonable procedures and data security standards for Internet gaming.”
Clearly, this is a rough overview.
If the poker community had some type of lobbying group or representative organization, this would be the perfect time for them to speak with those Connecticut bill sponsors to insist that online poker be a part of the final bill.
Connecticut lawmakers back sports betting, online gambling to fund debt-free community college – Hartford Courant https://t.co/UtPAagZApS
Sports Betting In Casino
— Cathy Osten (@CathyOsten) February 6, 2021
Sports Betting In Ct
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Gov. Ned Lamont took a risk when he announced a Connecticut sports betting agreement with just one tribal partner instead of both.
That’s left some key parties pretty upset.
Lamont’s office announced an agreement for expanded gaming with the Mohegan Tribe Tuesday. The announcement came after a joint Public Safety and Security Committee hearing where hopeful CT sports betting operators weighed in on the issue.
Rodney Butler, Chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Indians, said he doubted a two-sided announcement would come with his tribe still in negotiations at the hearing. When the announcement finally did come, Butler and legislators that support the tribe both spoke out about the deal.
Legislators, Butler slam Connecticut sports betting announcement
Butler said a two-sided announcement “goes at the heart of this deal,” so he was a bit frustrated late Tuesday. Butler told local media it was “extremely disrespectful” the governor’s office moved forward with an announcement:
“After months of closed-door negotiations, it’s offensive that Governor Lamont would announce an agreement with only one of the two Tribal Nations that have been a party to the negotiations, despite full knowledge that both sovereign Nations are needed to implement any agreement.
“We have participated in these discussions in good faith and consider today’s events extremely disrespectful in terms of process and substance. Now that the Governor Lamont has laid bare the confidential terms of our negotiations, you can see the significant and substantial concessions made by both Tribes. Just permitting Lottery to participate in full sports betting, absent tax or revenue share, is a major allowance.
“We have one remaining point of contention that is easily resolved if some sense of mutual respect is afforded for the specific needs of our tribal community. We remain open to discussions and hope this is resolved quickly for the benefit of the entire state of Connecticut.”
A delegation of 17 legislators from Eastern Connecticut also spoke out in a letter to the governor’s office:
“We remain committed to the future and to the modernization of gaming in Connecticut. However, we cannot accept this agreement as it is incomplete. It is necessary that the agreement include both the Mohegan Tribe and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. Unless an agreement includes both tribes, the eastern Connecticut delegation simply cannot support it.”
Sports Betting In Ct
Connecticut sports betting details
The announcement between the governor’s office and the Mohegan Indians finally gave insight into expanded gaming in the state:
- Sports betting revenue would be taxed at 13.5% while iGaming gets a 20% tax rate.
- The Mohegan Indians get one skin. The tribe signed Kambi as a sports betting partner nearly two years ago.
- The Connecticut Lottery also gets an online sports betting skin. That’s in addition to 15 retail locations that can allow sports betting.
- New Lottery-run sports betting venues would be built in Bridgeport and Hartford.
- The Lottery can sub-license some of those retail operations to Sportech, but Sportech won’t get an online license.
Sportech threatens to sue
Sportech is the state’s exclusive parimutuel wagering operator and has lobbied for its inclusion for years. The company is included in the plans, but only if the Connecticut Lottery allows it.
Sportech isn’t taking its place in the proposed expanded gaming agreement too well, according to a statement:
“One year ago, Governor Lamont stated he would seek a fair resolution regarding gaming expansion involving existing gaming operators that ‘must be designed to avoid and withstand endless legal challenges.’ Regretfully, the Governor’s announcement this afternoon, that principally excludes Sportech from expanded gaming, leaves us with little option but to pursue legal recourse on behalf of our 400 Connecticut employees.”
Sportech’s main argument is that sports betting is not a casino game. That means it shouldn’t be only awarded to the two tribes, which have exclusivity over casino gaming in the state.